That Time I Got to Meet Two of My Favorite Pro Athletes

Before I jump into today’s post I just wanted to share my REALLY good news: my tumor is benign!!!! As in the opposite of cancerous! I’m able to just keep an eye on it, and if it changes I’ll have to have it biopsied again, but for now, life goes on! Thank you to everyone for all of your kind words and support while I was waiting for my test results! And now onward…

On Friday night Adam and I went to Marlins Park for a tech expo. Adam is thinking about building himself a new computer and wanted to see what cool new things are coming out!

We got to try an Oculus Rift, a virtual reality headset.

The program we got to try was a roller coaster simulation. As soon as you put the headset on you literally feel like you’ve just gotten on a roller coaster ride! Even though I was sitting in a regular chair, I literally felt my stomach turn on each of the drops! It’s so crazy!

And we got to meet Mario Chalmers from the Miami Heat – he was at the event signing autographs!

Naturally I acted like I meet celebrity athletes all the time and played it totally cool… by literally not saying one word to Rio. I’m pretty sure I just smiled really big and maybe let out a small giggle.

(Hey, it’s not everyday you get to meet a 2X NBA champ who plays for your fave team!)

Luckily on Saturday afternoon Adam and I attended an event for a client of mine and I had a chance to redeem myself. I got to meet Zach Thomas, a retired 7X Pro Bowl linebacker for the Miami Dolphins and this time I managed to squeak a couple of words out!

Aaaaaaand if you’ll notice I was wearing shorts! This must have been the first time I have worn shorts out of the house in… 9 years?

I don’t think it’s a coincidence that I’m simultaneously making strides in running and building up my self-confidence. I am sure the two are linked in a very strong way.

Today is not the day for me to deep dive into that though, today is a day where I just want to continue reveling in my half marathon PR *AND* the fact that I got to meet two of my favorite athletes over the weekend.

It was like a dream come true!

Have you ever met your favorite athlete/actor/singer? Did you play it cool?

40 Comments

Confidence is wonderful. I can relate I mean completely to the wearing shorts thing! Up until I started running again I never ever ever wore anything that showed my legs!!!!!! I hated them….with a passion. This year I wore shorts more than I ever have…in public and all! Go us!!
I got an early start with meeting actors/famous people etc. I met Tom Wopat back in the late 80’s which if you didn’t know starred in Dukes of Hazard as Luke Duke which was HUGE with my family. My aunts all went crazy so I as a young girl was embarrassed and just talked to him. Since then I have met several famous persons and always just felt they were another person. No nerves or anything…maybe something is wrong with me!

In this sport confidence is everything. You know your going to kill that sub 3hr because you were so close last weekend. That is confidence which will make you run so strong at your next race.

I’ve met a few pro athletes over the years and I also try to play it cool. Hey no big deal I’m sitting/standing next to this big time athlete lol. I think if I ever meet some of the elite ultra runners I would probably clam up and just stare at them lol.

That is very cool you got to meet some of your favorite athletes!!!! It is hard for me to hide my emotions, good, bad, or otherwise. So whenever I meet someone famous (LIKE TERRY GROSS!!) I get a big ol’ smile on my face!!

I’ve never met anyone famous. Closest I’ve gotten is seeing Shaq from a few feet away, but didn’t actually meet him. My family was in Seattle, killing time before going to the theater, and my mom, sister, and I were shopping. My dad is less interested in shopping than the rest of us, and decided to go across the street to sit in the lobby of the upscale hotel there (Four Seasons, I think?) and it turned out Shaq was staying there. I think my dad actually said hello to him. By the time the rest of us went over there to meet back up with my dad, we passed Shaq leaving the hotel. He’s tall.

So glad to hear the great news about your medical results! I bet that is a huge weight off your shoulders. It seriously sounds like you had a pretty epic weekend, all around. I love that all of these famous people are athletes, because I would probably react the same. I met Joe Montana once in an REI and he actually struck up a conversation with me while his wife was trying on clothing. I was beyond star struck. If I could meet anyone in the world it would probably be Reese Witherspoon or Will Ferrell.

Way to wear those shorts, girl! They look great. Most of us are probably a bit jealous right now because we are stuck in pants for the next six months. 🙂

That’s so cool that you met Joe Montana and that he struck up a convo with you!

I would LOVE to meet Reese! When I was a teenager I would watch Sweet Home Alabama on repeat. I also had this black sweater and b&w print skirt that looked like one of her outfits from the movie and totally channeled my inner Reese whenever I wore it 🙂

So glad to hear the good news!!
I haven’t really “met” any famous people, but 2 years ago my husband and I were in New Orleans for the Superbowl and we were waiting with Mark Burnett to get into NOLA, Neither my husband or I said anything because he was kind of giving out the vibe of trying to go unnoticed–I think I am always too embarrassed to say anything anyway.
I would like to meet Meb, Shalane Flanagan, Deana Kaster, or Joan Benoit–but again, I would probably clam up! Maybe they would let me watch them on a workout???

Thank you, Ali! It turned out to be really hot at the event so I was really, extra glad that I wore shorts. I will definitely have to buy a couple new pairs now that I have discovered that the world won’t end if I wear them out!

It wasn’t really someone I care all that much about, but I was in line behind Ozzy Osbourne at a convenience store once.

My fiance saw Larry David out at a restaurant. His coworkers had to tell him who he was, Wes really isn’t a fan. When he got home he was like “I saw that guy from those shows you like, you know, what’s his name”. I’m like, the worlds biggest Seinfeld fan. I would have died. I can’t believe he didn’t text me! I would have driven across town in rush hour just to stand there and awkwardly stare. It would have been awesome.

I’m so happy for you and the fact that your tumor is benign!!!
I followed all of Mario Chalmers’ college career because he played for University of Kansas which is just about 30 miles from here.
Glad you are feeling more self confident – your look great in shorts!!!

That’s so good to hear! I’m so happy for you! 😀
& guurl, your legs are killer! I’m glad to hear you show them off more and more 😀

So cool you got to meet two of your fave athletes! 😀
I once ran into Jennifer Lopez in Central Park (like wtf), and I met Rudy Giovannini once (HAHAHA he is some random SUPER famous LOCAL celeb in Bolzano, Italy). And some random norwegian singers, skiers and cyclists. So nothing special.. 🙁
Closest thing I’ve ever been to meeting anyone famous that I actually care about is the Dolly Parton concert I went to this summer – I loooove Dolly, so that was cool 😀 But that’s not the same as meeting her 🙁
My mom drove next to John Cleese on a highway in Germany when that vulcano thing happened in Iceland. Random, but that’s cool hahah xD
Most people I find interesting are dead.. But I’d love to meet Dolly Parton for real and hang out with her in Dollywood (I’m dead serious, for some reason people never believe me when I tell them I’m a huge Dolly fan haha). I’d also love to meet my fave queens from RuPaul’s Drag Race – Alaska Thunderf*ck, Adore Delano, Alyssa Edwards, Sharon Needles, Bianca Del Rio (yes, I am also a huge drag queen fan). But I’m pretty sure I’ll never be that lucky 🙁

Hmmmm…. I was a swimmer growing up so I have a list of swimmers I would like to meet. Funny when I saw the picture with you in the shorts, I thought … “lucky she can still wear shorts” hehe.. and then I got to the rest of the story – go Kristina!

Hahaha yes! I do feel lucky that we can wear shorts almost 365 days a year! There was a time where I would basically wear a sweatshirt or jacket and pants even when it was 90 degrees out, but those days are long gone, thank goodness!